Album Reviews

Steve Gunn

Eyes on the Lines

In regards to the accolades given to the anything dubbed neo-psychedelia, a great deal of the praise stems from the semantics of the recordings rather than technical prowess. While Steve Gunn’s latest Eyes On The Lines may not be the place for former Violators guitarist in terms of proficiency, he is assuredly one of the most interesting.

Gunn, much like Kurt Vile, has a peculiar way of conducting the flow of songs on a record. Almost like an archeological exhibit at the turn of the century, his album takes you through metaphysical caverns, literal temples and surveying rare jewels. Gunn’s Eyes On The Lines is a solo tour de force as he assaults the contemporary psych-model.

Breaking away from the tropes of fuzzy production or polished poetry laid over reverb-induced riffs that ultimately meet no end, Gunn exists within his own narrative. Much like Andrew Bird and the proverbial Bowl of Fire, Gunn inhabits a zeitgeist without unwittingly immersing himself into a specific period. There’s no false modesty of being a flower child’s child and automatically recessing into that script. Gunn is thoroughly his own man.

Eyes On The Lines feels like a transitional output. Gunn is by no means through carving his niche in the spore-laden field of chromatic noise, but he’s certainly becoming a figure of clarity.